Libyan authorities have been overwhelmed by the number of deaths, which they feared could climbed up to 20,000 in the flood disaster that hit the country last Sunday.
Thousands of corpses have been recovered and buried in mass graves in the worst hit city of Derna. Health officials say that many thousands of people are still missing.
An unusually strong Mediterranean storm caused deadly flooding in towns across eastern Libya, with Derna taking the brunt when the dams upriver from the city collapsed.
Floodwaters washed down Wadi Derna, a valley that cuts through the city, crashing through buildings and washing people out to sea.
The deluge swept away entire families and exposed vulnerabilities in the oil-rich country, which has been mired in conflict since a 2011 uprising overthrew veteran dictator Colonel Muammar Gadaffi.
The startling devastation reflected Storm Daniel’s intensity, but also the vulnerability of Libya, which lacks a single central government.
The country is ruled by one regime in the east and a rival one in the west which has led to widespread neglect of infrastructure.
The dams that collapsed outside Derna were built in the 1970s and had not been maintained for years, local media reported.
Derna has begun burying its dead, mostly in mass graves, said eastern Libya’s Health Minister Othman Abduljaleel.
More than 3,000 bodies were buried by Thursday morning, the minister said, while another 2,000 were still being processed.
Mr Abduljaleel added that rescue teams were still searching wrecked buildings in the city centre, while divers were combing the sea off Derna.
The floods have left at least 30,000 people displaced in Derna, according to the International Organisation for Migration, and several thousand others were forced to leave their homes in other eastern towns, the United Nations agency said.
The floods damaged or destroyed many roads giving access to Derna, which has severely hampered the arrival of international rescue teams and humanitarian assistance.
